The chicks are growing

The following week Roland has returned with the remaining eggs, which are all close to hatching. A lot has changed since he has been away, even though it has only been 7 days, and the place is full of the ‘cheeping’ and ‘purring’ sounds of hungry and feeding chicks!

Some of the chicks are now getting too big for their starter coops. This means we are now busy setting up larger areas for the eldest chicks so they have got extra room to stretch their legs, helping to develop their fast growing muscles and bones. At 1cm a day, you can almost see them getting taller before your eyes!

By the time all the eggs have hatched, there will be quite a size difference between the eldest and youngest! As they get older we can colour band the chicks so we can keep track of them more easily once they eventually start socialising with each other. You can see this in this picture.

- Amy King

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About the author

Amy King and Harry Nevard are the 2011 crane parents and their roles are to rear and nurture the young cranes to adulthood. Amy has previously worked on the cranes in 2010 and Harry has worked with Sarus and Brolgas in Australia and cranes and crakes at Pensthorpe. Prior to Harry's involvement Roland Digby worked on the cranes for the first year of the project.